Occasionally a financial chart doesn’t just tell a story, it screams at us, and right now the crypto charts are declaring that altcoin season has arrived.
The forerunners of any new technology will inevitably be surpassed. A jumbo jet does not resemble the Wright brothers’ crude creation. In the crypto world, this means that Bitcoin and Ethereum will one day go the way of Betamax.
While many crypto enthusiasts envision a day when a single BTC is worth $1 million, contrarians believe that the future belongs to nimble, useful coins that will stand on the shoulders of forerunners to solve complex, real-life problems. The trillion dollar market cap of BTC is presently being stalked by ETH, a coin that utilises smart contracts and underpins the burgeoning NFT movement. But when ETH does eclipse its big brother, it will too be looking over its shoulder at some hungry young competitors that are not plagued by outrageous gas fees and general user inconvenience.
There are many upstarts with the potential to leapfrog the early crypto market leaders. Cardano (ADA) is staffed by a serious team of innovators who have set their eyes on the prize. Cardano is looking to Africa of all places, to be of most use to humanity. It has multiple deals in the pipeline including an initiative that might provide a digital ledger for Ethiopian students to record their academic results. Such an agreement demonstrates the immense power of blockchain beyond its use as a financial instrument.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson recently declared the Ethereum network to be a “dumpster fire,” and claimed that both BTC and ETH are not sustainable or scalable. He believes ADA can become the first efficient third-generation cryptocurrency.
A smaller market capper in Avalanche (AVAX) reportedly shows potential and is well worth closer investigation. Other potential Ethereum rivals include Polkadot (DOT) and Cosmos (ATOM). All are carefully mapping Ethereum’s progress and probing for weaknesses.
Whomever the long-term winners are, right now altcoins are exploding in value. Ethereum leads the charge, but other coins are routinely seeing 30% daily increases. The profits are out there to be found. Top 100 coins with solid development teams and meaningful whitepapers should provide significant returns should the altcoin bulls continue to run.
Don’t be surprised when ETH catches and passes BTC. And then get ready for the next wave, the agile players who have learned the lessons of the slow-moving forerunners and solve real-world problems, like haphazard account keeping in African nations and even fraud-proof elections.
Not financial advice. Treble your life savings at your own behest.
Jackson Byrne – Financial Editor